


Edward's Babysitting Service

by orphan_account



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 12:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5584858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edward's called to East Headquarters on an important assignment. He ends up getting more than he bargains for when he learns this assignment is taking care of and protecting siblings from the Homunculi - and a new threat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally on Fanfiction.net. I am the original author of this story, I simply moved it since this was one of my better received fanfictions.

 

"What's the Colonel want now?" Edward Elric sighed.

"I don't know, Brother, but if he told us to get to East Headquarters quick, it's probably something important," Alphonse Elric answered.

The brothers were currently on their way to East City from Resembool, where Edward was getting his automail fixed by his mechanic and childhood friend, Winry. They received a call from Colonel Mustang during breakfast that morning.

"We're now entering East City," a voice over the train intercom said as the train started slowing.

Edward and Alphonse, along with a few other people, stood as they prepared to leave the train. The brothers were ushered into a car once they got outside the station and were taken to the military headquarters.

Edward knocked on the door, and when he heard Mustang say, "Come in," he opened the door.

"It took you long enough to show up!" A child's voice yelled at him. The source of this voice was standing on the couch, his arms crossed as he pouted at Edward. "We've been waiting for ages!"

"Lovino!" One of the two standing behind the couch scolded him. "Don't be mean to your new guards. It hasn't been that long."

Edward frowned, noting the curl that was poking out the right side of his head. And new guards? He didn't like the sound of that. He blinked, noticing there was another child - hiding behind Lovino. She looked almost the same as her brother, but the curl was on the left side of her head instead of the right. She appeared to be grabbing the back of her brother's shirt as she stared, looking scared.

His attention turned to the two standing behind the couch. One was clearly younger than the other, probably a teenager and a young adult from his guess.

Mustang caught his attention as he said, "Fullmetal, these are Roderich and Antonio. They've requested we have military personal look after the children on the couch, Lovino and Feliciano."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Lovino was yelling back.

Roderich walked up to Edward with a small sigh. "This is by no means a permanent arrangement. We just need someone to look after these two while we're away."

"One of our friends recommended we come here," Antonio told him, grinning. He had stopped paying attention to Lovino, at least for the moment. "He said the Amestrian military would be able to help us out."

Feliciano shifted out from behind her brother. "Mr. Roderich, are you going to be okay?" she asked. She looked scared as she hopped down from the couch and went over to him.

Roderich said, "We'll be fine, Feliciano. Focus on keeping yourself and Lovino safe."

"Okay. Come back soon." She said, hugging him and smiling.

Edward watched this exchange with interest. He frowned a tiny bit and looked at Alphonse. Edward wasn't sure at all if they could take the two around with them, it would be dangerous. 

Alphonse gave a small shrug and Edward was about to deny doing this.

Mustang seemed to be a few steps ahead of him, saying before he could begin, "You don't have a choice in the matter, Fullmetal. If you don't take care of Lovino and Feliciano, I'll withdraw letting you search for the Philosopher's Stone."

He closed his mouth, frowning at the fact Mustang had got him. Edward changed his thought process to how to protect them, they would both be pretty hard. At least Lovino seemed like he could protect himself, but Feliciano seemed defenseless. 

Maybe he could leave them with Winry? She would love taking care of them and she could find ways to keep them busy. "I'll be calling for reports," Mustang stated, grinning. He seemed to know what Edward was thinking. "So Roderich and Antonio can know they are safe as well."

"Yea, yea," Edward muttered. Great, he was trapped. 

Feliciano walked over to them and smiled. "Will we have lots of fun?"

"We're getting stuck with them," Lovino said, slipping off the couch and joining his sister. "Of course we won't! We'll probably have to find ways to distract ourselves while they go deal with paperwork or something."

 _They sound like they come from Aerugo_ , Edward thought. He didn't know much about the country to the south, just that their relations with Amestris were shaky at best. _But if they do come from Aerugo, why ask Amestrian military to look after them?_

"Don't worry," Alphonse said, breaking Edward out of his thoughts once more, "We'll have lots of fun."

"Yay!" Feliciano cheered.

Roderich smiled and gave Feliciano's head a pat. "You be good for them now, all right? They're going to a lot of trouble to take care of you guys."

"Ok!" Feliciano said. She ran over to the table, sorting through some papers that were laying on it. Feliciano looked through them before finally grabbing one and ran back over to Roderich. "Here! It's me, you and Ms. Elizabeta!"

Roderich took it and smiled. "Thank you, Feliciano. This is lovely."

Feliciano looked really happy and ran back over to the table and gathering the rest of the paper. Edward decided that Lovino would be harder to take care of, keeping Feliciano happy appeared to be quite simple. Though he still had no clues about protecting either of them.

Speaking of Lovino, Edward looked around for the older sibling and found he had gone back to shouting at Antonio. He didn't seem happy to be going with the Elrics at all.

"Hey, we're going to need to get going. I told Winry and Granny we'd be back tomorrow," Edward stated.

Mustang nodded, trying to hide a smile. He coughed and straightened. "Good luck, Fullmetal."

"Lovino!" Antonio finally managed yell over the shouts of the child.

"What?" Lovino grumbled.

Antonio pushed him toward Edward and Alphonse. "You need to get going. And be good, okay? I'll have a special treat for you if you are."

"I don't want any of your treats!" he retorted, though he did join Feliciano and the Elrics.

"Well, we must be going," Roderich said. "We don't want to risk them realizing something has happened."

"Tell Ms. Elizabeta I said bye!" Feliciano called out after them.

"Don't worry, I will," Roderich replied. "I'll also tell Holy Rome."

Mustang chuckled. "Well, we're leaving them in your care, Fullmetal."

"That makes me feel so much better," Edward grumbled.

They hurried out of the office and got into a taxi so they could return to the train station.

When they got on the train heading back, Feliciano started coloring on one of the papers she brought along as she hummed. Lovino had curled up next to her and fallen asleep.

As Edward looked over the two, he sighed and rubbed his head.  _What have I gotten myself into?_

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Winry was excited to meet the siblings. "Awww!" she cried, hugging them.

"Winry, please don't hurt them." Edward sighed, trying to hide a smile at her reaction.

"I'm Feliciano Vargas, and this is my older brother Lovino," Feliciano said, happily returning Winry's hug.

Lovino wriggled a little bit, trying to get free of the hug. He gave up pretty fast and crossed his arms instead, pouting.

"I'm Winry Rockbell," Winry introduced herself, patting Feliciano on the head. She turned to Edward and asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be taking care of them?"

"Because they were pretty much sprung on me. The Colonel didn't tell me I would until I was already there," Edward replied, rubbing his head as he thought about it. Edward noticed that Lovino seemed strangely silent, which is the exact opposite of what he was like up until they got to Resembool. He looked at the elder brother, wondering if he was okay and noticed he had actually started blushing.

Edward tried to think nothing of it, and his thoughts were pulled away from it as Granny Pinako called from the kitchen, "Well, I hope they like pasta. I made plenty."

"Yay!" Feliciano grinned happily, running over to the table and pulling out a picture. She added something to it before turning around and running to Edward. "This is for you," she said.

Edward took it and looked down. He was expecting a kid's drawing, so seeing the Flamel drawn accurately came as as surprise. It wasn't blacked out, either. The cross appeared to be made of bronze and had shading that made it look 3D. The snake twining around it had each scale pronounced and felt like it could leap off the page. The wings, too, had every feather pronounced and the crown appeared to be the same bronze as the cross.

Edward was speechless at Feliciano's art skill. It made him wonder what Feliciano might be able to do with alchemy were the child able to successfully learn it.

He realized Feliciano was still looking at him. Edward looked back at Feliciano and smiled, saying, "This is amazing. Thank you."

Feliciano looked really happy and ran back over to where she set down her art supplies. Winry walked over and stared. "Feliciano drew this?" she asked, examining at the intricate design of the snake's scales.

"It appears so," Edward muttered. "I didn't think a kid could do something of this caliber."

"You're not teaching them alchemy," Winry told him. Her eyes didn't leave the page as she said it.

"Who said I was thinking anything of the kind?" Edward retorted.

"I know you," Winry told him as she made her way to the other room.

Granny Pinako walked in. "Dinner's ready. Are you going to keep talking out here?"

Feliciano grinned and ran for the dining room. Two seats had books piled on them so Feliciano and Lovino could reach the table. Alphonse was setting out the last of the plates as they entered.

Everyone started eating, and Edward showed Alphonse the picture Feliciano gave him. "I'm not sure where she learned how to draw like this, but it's amazing for someone as young as she is," Edward muttered.

Alphonse nodded, looking over the picture. "If this is what she could do now, it makes me want to see what she could draw when she's fully grown."

Dinner was quiet for the most part. A lot of it was focused on getting to know the Vargas Siblings better, though they seemed reluctant to talk about anything involving their family. Feliciano was also curious about Amestris, asking any number of questions about Resembool and the country as a whole.

It wasn't until they were almost finished eating Feliciano asked, "Where are we going to be sleeping?"

"I've got a spare room you can use," Pinako stated. "I'll go and get it set once we're done. Just make sure you two don't stay up late or you're going to be tired tomorrow. Ed and Al travel a lot, so you're going to be constantly moving."

Edward wasn't positive, but it seemed like Pinako answered an unasked question the two had on their minds. They finished eating and while Winry and Feliciano cleaned dishes, Pinako, Edward, and Alphonse set out blankets and pillows in the bedroom Feliciano and Lovino would have for the night. Lovino followed them, pouting. He looked like he wanted to say something, though it may have just been his only other choice was to join Feliciano and Winry in the kitchen.

Pinako showed the siblings the bathroom and their own bedrooms were in case they were needed during the night. They had finished cleaning the mattresses and making the beds and were about to call for Feliciano when Winry came in carrying a sleeping Feliciano.

"Poor thing fell asleep once we were done," she whispered, placing Feliciano on one of the beds and tucking her in. Once Winry had gotten Feliciano tucked in, she knelt in front of Lovino and smiled at him. "You get some rest too, all right?"

Lovino was blushing again, but he nodded. The Elrics and Rockbells left the room, closing the door behind them softly as to not wake Feliciano and went back downstairs to chat a bit.

* * *

 

Feliciano woke up close to midnight. At least he thought it was midnight, it was hard to tell. Feliciano looked over at the other bed and saw Lovino sitting on it, staring out the window and pouting.

He jumped out of his own temporary bed and went over to Lovino's, getting on and crawling over to his brother. He sat down and cuddled the other. "So how do you think everyone else is doing?" Feliciano asked.

"I couldn't care less about those bastards," Lovino muttered.

"Romano, they've been taking care of us," Feliciano said. Roderich had told him it was dangerous to use their country names, but they were alone. So it had to be okay to use them now, right?

Lovino looked at Feliciano and said in agreement, "They did, Veneziano." Then he scowled, crossing his arms and continuing, "But then they dumped us off here claiming they'll come back. You know what that is? Abandonment."

"It is not! Holy Rome was the one that told them we'd be safe here," Feliciano told him. "And Big Brother France shouldn't know we're here either. We should be safe."

"Well, we'll see about that," Lovino muttered. He laid down and curled up to go to sleep. Feliciano laid down next to him and hugged his brother as they fell asleep.

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

Winry smiled the next morning when she walked into Feliciano's and Lovino's room and found them sleeping next to each other, Feliciano's arm over her brother's chest. They looked so cute, Winry felt guilty to wake them up. She shook her head, knowing that if she let Edward wake them up, he'd probably scare the two to death.

So instead, she kneeled down next to the bed and said softly, "Hey, you two. It's time to wake up."

"Five more minutes…" Lovino complained, waving one of his hands before hugging Feliciano closer.

Winry smiled. If that wasn't sibling love at a young age, she wouldn't be able to tell what was. "I wish I could, but you guys are going to be leaving soon and you still need to eat breakfast," Winry said.

Lovino's eye flickered open at her before nodding. He looked down at Feliciano and said, "Feliciano, it's time to wake up."

"Ms. Elizabeta, can't I have a few more minutes?" It was Feliciano's turn to complain, and apparently she didn't remember what happened. But the next moment she sat straight up before looking around, her eyes finally landing on Winry.

"I would've gladly let you sleep in," Winry said, patting Feliciano's head, "But you guys are going to be leaving soon."

"We'll see each other again, right?" Feliciano asked.

Winry smiled. "We sure will," Winry replied, trying to ignore the fact that the next time they saw each other it would probably be because Edward had broken his automail again.

Winry led the two downstairs, where two suitcases were sitting by the door for the siblings. Edward was munching on some toast, resting on the couch. When he saw the two, he said, "We've still got about an hour before the train is set to leave. Go ahead and eat and then we'll leave."

"Where are we going?" Feliciano asked.

"Dublith," Edward replied. He wasn't sure if Izumi should meet Feliciano and Lovino, considering since this was only his second day of guarding them, but they received a call from her saying she found a possible lead on the Philosopher's Stone.

An hour later, they were on a train heading for Dublith. Feliciano was watching the scenery go by today, waving to those who cared to look at the train, while Lovino curled up on the seat and started to nap once more

"What's Dublith like?" Feliciano asked, sitting down once the scenery gave way to desert.

"It's bigger than Resembool, so it's busier, but you won't need to worry," Edward said, smiling at Feliciano and patting her head similar to how Winry does. "We won't let you get lost, and you're going to have a few more eyes on you when you arrive."

Feliciano smiled before falling asleep as well, although she laid down leaning on Edward. He stared for a moment before sighing and patting her head. He turned to Alphonse and said, "I just hope Teacher takes their arrival well."

"I would worry more about Lovino than Feliciano," Alphonse said. They were remembering when Edward was rude to Izumi and knew something similar might happen to the elder brother.

Edward was rubbing his jaw as he remembered it. "Yea, that's a good point. I don't think Teacher would do anything with them that she did with us, but…"

"We're not positive," Alphonse finished his sentence for him. He couldn't see either of them being able to take on Teacher in a fight, let alone be able to survive the encounter.

"We can only hope for the best," Edward muttered. He decided to go ahead and call Izumi at the next station and explain their additions to her before they arrived.

Izumi didn't sound to happy about it, but she agreed and told him that there would be something set up for the siblings while they were there. They arrived in Dublith and made their way toward Izumi's home. Feliciano seemed to take the idea of getting lost to heart and was holding onto Edward's leg for dear life.

Alphonse laughed and told her, "It's okay. Just stay close to us and you won't get lost."

She blinked at him, before nodding and finally letting go. Edward gave his brother a silent thank you, walking without her attached to his leg was much easier.

Once they arrived, Edward knocked on the door. Sig was the one who answered, inviting them inside. Feliciano took one look at Sig and hid behind Edward, but Lovino stared at him defiantly. Edward sighed, thinking about how that just about summed the two up. Edward knelt down and said to Feliciano, "He's not going to hurt you."

Feliciano looked between Edward's face and Sig's before finally nodding. She didn't come out from behind Edward though as they went inside.

Izumi was waiting for them in the kitchen. "So you two were stuck becoming guards?" She asked the Elrics, before looking at their charges. "Who are you two?"

"I'm Feliciano," Feliciano introduced herself. "And he's Lovino."

Izumi knelt down, saying, "I'm Izumi Curtis, and that's my husband Sig. You don't need to worry about anything while you stay with us, we'll be here to help you."

Feliciano smiled and hugged Izumi's arm. "Thank you for helping take care of us!"

Edward and Alphonse froze, waiting for a reaction to Feliciano's hug, so Edward and Alphonse were surprised when Izumi sighed and said, "I got a room for you and your brother set up. Come along and I'll show you. Ed, Al, I'll talk to you after dinner about that lead."

"Right, Teacher," Edward said. He watched Izumi leave with the siblings and sighed, turning to what they were having for dinner.

A few minutes later, Feliciano and Lovino were settled in the living room while Izumi rejoined Edward to finish cooking.

"So, what's the real story behind those two?" Izumi asked Edward.

Edward said, "I can't be sure. Their caretakers said they were going away and needed someone to look after them. I'm not sure why they had to have the military looking after them and not a babysitter, though."

Izumi agreed, "It sounds like you didn't get much information about what's going on. You may not be able to protect them when the time comes."

Edward nodded in silent agreement, wondering how he might be able to get the siblings to talk about what exactly they're being protected from.

* * *

"Looks like we can get him to play nice if we just get one of those kids," the person looking down on the Curtis household muttered before disappearing into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

"Amore," the blonde Frenchman said to Roderich and Antonio. "You two know why I've come, so why don't you just go ahead and hand them over?"

Roderich replied, "You're going to have to try a lot harder than that."

"Besides, we've got reinforcements coming to help us," Antonio told him. "France, you're not going to get the Vargas brothers."

"Oh, let's just see how long you can hold up that promise," France replied.

"What do you mean?" Roderich asked, skeptical of his cool tone.

France smiled. "Well, I've already had armies sent out to keep your reinforcements, ah, _busy_ so you two won't be getting any extra help. It would simply be easier to hand the brothers over right now."

"You're still not getting them that easily," Antonio stated. 

* * *

 

"Liore," Edward grumbled. "Why'd it have to be Liore? We've already been there and had nothing!"

Alphonse told him, "I really don't know, but at least we can see what Rose is doing."

"Yea," Edward replied. He stopped, holding up his hand to stop Alphonse from replying when he heard someone else talking. He got up and moved quietly, stopping outside Lovino and Feliciano's door.

"Why don't you learn how to worry about yourself?" Lovino was asking.

Feliciano replied, "But…but… Mr. Roderich and Mr. Antonio may really be hurt. Francis isn't someone to take lightly."

"Isn't he the one that saved you from Holy Rome until that bastard took us?" Lovino grumbled.

"That's why I'm saying so," Feliciano replied. "Holy Rome and France got into a fight over me before, I don't want to see either of them getting hurt over it again. I don't want to see Mr. Roderich or Ms. Elizabeta or Mr. Antonio hurt either."

"Let the bastards worry about themselves," Lovino told him. "They'll be fine, and soon we can go back home."

The only reply to Lovino's statement was 'Night' as the two fell asleep.

"What do you think that was about?" Alphonse asked once they returned to their room.

Edward shook his head. "I don't know, but they definitely know more than they're telling us."

Later that night, Alphonse heard the door open. He looked up and found Feliciano standing there, looking scared. "Something wrong?" Alphonse asked the little Italian as he sat up.

"I had a bad dream," Feliciano said, walking over. Alphonse found that there were tears in her eyes, like she had been crying.

"What was it? Sometimes telling others a bad dream will help it go away," Alphonse said.

Feliciano nodded a little bit, sitting down next to Alphonse. "I was back at home with everyone. We were sitting there listening to Mr. Roderich play some music on his piano. Mr. Roderich is really good at the piano and he was playing one of my favorite songs, but the wall broke in and Lovino and Mr. Antonio were laying there looking like they...." She sniffled and started crying again.

Alphonse pat her head and said, "Lovino's here with us. And we'll protect him. And I'm sure Antonio can look after himself."

Feliciano looked up at Alphonse, nodding. "I just want them to be safe."

"It sounds like you really care about them," Alphonse muttered, thinking about how he cared for Edward.

Feliciano nodded. "For a while, I lived with my grandpa," Feliciano explained. "I enjoyed living with him, and he taught me so many things. But he also suffered so much. There were so many scars on his body and it looked like he was suffering. I don't want anyone else to feel the same way he did."

Alphonse nodded, thinking he understood what Feliciano meant. "You were really close to your grandpa, weren't you?"

"Yea, he was the greatest," Feliciano said, perking up as she thought about her grandfather.

Alphonse would've smiled if he could. "Why don't you try to go get more sleep? You're going to need it. And just remember that everyone's fine, there's nothing to worry about."

"Ok," Feliciano said, hugging Alphonse before leaving the room.

Alphonse stared after her for a moment, wondering what it was her family had to live with. Antonio and Roderich didn't seem to be blood related, but she didn't seem to mind either. And there was still the fact she knew more than she was telling them. 

He shook his head and sighed. They seemed to be more upset about not being with Antonio and Roderich than anything else at the moment. So Edward and himself had to make sure they stayed safe to return to them.

If only it were that easy.


	5. Chapter 5

"We've got to walk?" Feliciano asked, staring out at the desert. Right behind them was the train station.

Edward nodded. "We should have had a taxi driver, but they don't appear to be here."

"Don't worry, you two won't need to walk the whole way," Alphonse said. "I can help carry you two when you get tired, and we're plenty prepared in case we get hungry or thirsty."

Indeed, their last trip to Liore taught them a lot about traversing the desert separating the city from the rest of Amestris. They had stocked up on food and water for the trip, which was sure to take longer than their first time since they needed to walk the whole way.

Feliciano didn't seem to happy about having to walk, but Alphonse took all of their suitcases without saying a word. He looked at the two siblings, wondering what they were hiding that caused their situation to end up like this. There were so many other things they could've been doing. Feliciano could be creating art pieces that would last centuries, and Lovino could be helping around the house and just enjoying his life as a kid, yet here they were getting ready to walk across a desert.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lovino asked, starting forward. Edward, Alphonse, and Feliciano followed behind. They set a steady pace that should get them there by the end of the day, but wouldn't stress the two Italians out too quickly.

It was almost ten at night by the time they arrived. Edward had started carrying the suitcases while Feliciano was cradled in Alphonse's free arm, recuperating after falling a little while earlier. Lovino was trudging along without complaint, but the sag in his shoulders and his occasional yawn revealed how tired he really was.

"It's so late, are we going to be able to find someplace to stay?" Alphonse asked, looking at the moon.

Edward nodded. Before he could answer, he heard a familiar voice begging, "Please, come out. Then I can get you guys some shelter and food."

"No!" someone else retorted. Edward couldn't be sure, but it sounded like the girl was arguing with a kid.

"…Huh?" Feliciano asked, waking up. She looked around as the group headed for the voices.

"Rose!" Edward called out when they got close enough. Sure enough, the dark brunette was crouching at the opening to what appeared to be a small alleyway, holding out her hand.

Rose turned, seeing the group. "Edward! Alphonse!" she greeted them, but quickly turned back to whoever was in the alley. "Why don't you trust me? I can help you," she told the people in there.

"We don't need your help!" the person replied. "We can take care of ourselves."

"Wha- Feliciano!" Alphonse said, shocked, as Feliciano jumped out of Alphonse's grip and ran over to the alley with Lovino.

"Eng-" Lovino started, but was cut across by his sister saying, "Arthur!"

Standing in the alleyway was a blonde with thick eyebrows about the same height as the Italian twins. He stared at them, shocked for a moment, before sighing in relief. "So Francis hasn't gotten you two yet."

"Ah, who's that behind you?" Feliciano asked, craning her neck to see the two brown-haired blue-eyed kids behind the European.

"I'm Alfred," the slightly taller one introduced himself, but couldn't move because Arthur was blocking him.

The smaller one, sporting a sailor's outfit, said, "I'm Peter!"

"I've been asking them to come with me for hours," Rose said.

"Why don't you just leave us alone?" Arthur retorted.

Rose answered, "Because I can't just leave anyone alone to die!"

"We wouldn't die!" Arthur replied.

Before the argument could continue, Feliciano ran up to Arthur, asking, "Why don't you stay with us?"

Arthur seemed caught off-guard. He seemed to be having an internal argument. He agreed to send Roderich and Antonio help to fight Francis, yet here were the Italian siblings. Arthur looked up and spotted the suit of armor and the young boy who appeared to be their bodyguards. He sighed, smiling at Feliciano and saying, "Fine, we'll stay with you guys." It didn't look like those two would be able to handle Francis if he did find them, so it was better to be with them anyway.

Edward didn't look pleased, but he didn't make any kind of argument, so Feliciano's cheer was the only thing that spawned recognition of Arthur's agreement.

"I'm sure we'll get along great!" Alfred said, coming out from behind Arthur to properly greet Feliciano. Peter followed quickly behind, smiling at Feliciano.

"Yea," Feliciano agreed, smiling at the two.

Rose told Edward, "You can stay with me for tonight. I've got plenty of space for all of you."

"Hey, thanks," Edward replied. He was just glad to see that she was doing so well after everything that had happened.

Feliciano, Arthur, Peter, Lovino, and Alfred rejoined the group and they were about to leave when Rose asked, "Would you like to come with us?"

They turned back to the alley and found that there was a boy that looked very much like Alfred standing there, holding a polar bear cub. "Ah…yes," he replied, running up to the group.

"And who are you?" Rose asked him.

"Ma…Matthew," he replied. He looked like a nervous wreck, and by the time the group reached Rose's house, he was all but forgotten.

Rose was getting sleeping places ready while Feliciano showed Alfred, Peter, and Arthur some of her new drawings. Edward and Alphonse were helping her while Lovino was just sitting on one of the couches.

"So why'd you come back?" Rose asked.

Edward replied, "We heard that there were more traces to the Philosopher's Stone here, so we decided to come."

"It was also the perfect excuse to visit," Alphonse added, grabbing some more blankets. What none of them seemed to notice was that Arthur tensed slightly when they mentioned the Philosopher's Stone, but he quickly relaxed again and continued talking with Feliciano.

"Well, I can't be of much help there, but maybe someone else in town would be able to give you some information," Rose said.

Edward nodded. "Would you mind…?" He looked at the group of kids sitting there.

"Oh, it's fine," Rose replied, smiling at them. "I'm sure they'll be better off staying here anyway, especially the two you came with. They look exhausted."

"Yea, now that you think about it," Alphonse said, chuckling when he caught sight of Lovino. Somewhere in their conversation he had fallen asleep. The other four managed to find a marker somewhere and were drawing on each other's faces. Alfred was sporting a star around one eye and various dots on his cheeks, Feliciano had cat whiskers and her nose had been colored, Peter had two swirls on his cheeks with a line running down the middle of his face, and they were working on Arthur. When they pulled away, Arthur had a spot around his right eye and a very curly mustache that stretched from one side of his face to the other.

They were all laughing at each other, and Feliciano gave a mew, sending them into uncontrollable laughter.

"Okay, that's enough," Rose said. She finished setting up their beds and walked over. "Let's get your faces cleaned and then you can get some sleep."

Feliciano nodded as Rose picked her up. Rose found a rag and dipped it in some water, washing away the spot on her nose and the whiskers before setting her down. In a few minutes, the group had been wiped clean of the marks on their faces and had all been tucked into bed. Feliciano insisted on sleeping next to Lovino, and they weren't getting anywhere by arguing.

"Night," Feliciano muttered as she fell asleep.

"Good night," the rest of the group responded as they fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The scream ripped through the tcity of Liore as the noon hour crept upon the citizens. Everyone that heard it turned in the direction it came from, one of the apartment complexes.

The news of the scream traveled fast, and within a few minutes, the news had reached the ears of the Fullmetal Alchemist. He turned to the two girls talking about it and called out, "What happened?"

"I can't be to sure," the one of the right explained, "But there was a scream coming from one of the apartments near the church. I don't know what happened after that, but I think that someone from the military showed up to help handle the situation."

Edward nodded, trying to keep the rising worry in his chest from taking hold of his body. "Thanks for the tip," he said before turning back to Alphonse.

"Brother-"

"I know. Come on, Al."

Edward and Alphonse quickly made their way to Rose's apartment. From the outside, it didn't look like anything was wrong, but the tension in the air around the building was thick, and that made them all the more worried about what happened.

"I can't let you pass," someone at the entrance said.

"Why not?" Edward asked.

"I decided it would be best to make sure no one went in. It's not a good idea for-"

Edward cut his explanation short by pulling out his State Alchemist certification.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Mr. State Alchemist. You guys can go on ahead." The man stepped away from the door.

Edward nodded, putting the watch back and running up the stairs.

Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!

Edward and Alphonse found themselves covered in tomatoes. _Where did Lovino get tomatoes all the way out here?_ Edward wondered.

"Hey, bastard!" Lovino shouted. "I thought your military was supposed to be protecting us!"

Edward shook his head. "They are!" Edward shouted.

"Brother," Alphonse said. He motioned to the group and said, "Feliciano's missing."

"Huh?" Edward took a look at the group again, and did a headcount. It seemed like everyone was there. Then he realized that there was only one cap of red hair amidst all the children.

Lovino kicked his automail leg multiple times, grunting with each kick, "Then. Why. Did. One. Take. Feliciano?" By the time he finished, he sat down and rubbed his foot.

"What? Ok, I need an explanation," Edward stated.

Arthur called out, "She's not dead! Just fainted."

"Oh thank god," Alfred sighed. He walked over to Rose, who was lying on the ground.

Edward took the scene in again. Rose was lying on the ground with what Edward really hoped wasn't a bullet hole through one of her shoulders. Feliciano was gone, he knew that. The only blood was coming from the wound in Rose's shoulder, but everyone else seemed unharmed, and nothing seems to have moved.

He crouched down next to Lovino, saying, "I need to know what happened."

"This damned bastard showed up, shot Rose, and took Feliciano," Lovino grunted.

Edward sighed. "I kind of figured that."

"He's not going to come back, is he?" Peter asked, hiding behind one of the couches.

Alphonse walked over, saying, "Of course not, Peter. Can you tell us what happened?"

"Well, we were all sitting here talking when someone knocked on the door. Rose went and answered it and the guy forced her back inside. He was wearing a blue uniform and had blonde hair, standing about as tall as the doorway. Once he had the door closed behind him, he demanded that Rose give him Feliciano. Rose refused, so he threatened her with a gun. It didn't stop her, though, and she made sure that she was in the way of the gun. When she didn't move he…he…" Peter started crying, obviously not wanting to go on.

Arthur walked over and finished, "He shot rose and grabbed Feliciano. We tried to stop him but we're not exactly able to take on an adult."

"Well now that bastard's got Feliciano, and he may have been working for Francis!" Lovino shouted.

The room fell quiet.

"Um.... who's Francis?" Alphonse asked, remembering the name from when they overheard Feliciano and Lovino in Dublith.

Lovino growled. "He's after us. That's why we came here in the first place. He wants to claim our territory for himself and make us his servants the same way Roderich and Antonio did."

Edward frowned, not sure what Lovino was talking about. He walked over to Alphonse and said, "I'm going to find a phone to call Mustang. He's not going to be happy about this, but we're going to need to get Rose to a hospital and the rest of them into military custody until we can get Feliciano back."

"What makes you bastards think I'm going with you?" Lovino shouted. "One of those bastards from your military took my little brother; you think I'm going to let myself be taken into their custody?"

"Brother?" Alphonse and Edward asked in unison.

"Feliciano!" Lovino shouted. He paused, before shaking his head and growling. "You thought he was a girl, didn't you?"

"Feliciano's a boy?" Edward and Alphonse asked in unison. They looked at each other, confused. Feliciano didn't seem like a boy, especially not compared to Lovino.

"Yes he's a boy!" Lovino shouted.

Arthur called out, "You guys can complain later, just get those military guys here quickly." He was trying to tend to Rose's wound, but didn't seem to be having much success.

Edward walked out, still trying to come to the terms that Feliciano was a boy, and when he finally reached a phone tried to forget it as he called Mustang.

"Colonel Mustang, East Headquarters," Mustang replied.

"Did you know Feliciano's a boy?" Edward blurted out, before sighing. "Sorry, I just had a lot to deal with," Edward muttered, completely embarrassed he just said that.

Mustang said, "Of course Feliciano's a boy. Makes a pretty convincing girl, though, doesn't he? Now, is there any real reason you called me, Fullmetal?"

Edward sighed again. He really didn't want to explain what happened, but he did anyway.

"One of our own men kidnapped him?" Mustang asked.

"You think-" Edward started.

"It couldn't be anyone else," Mustang said. "I'll send some of my men there right away to pick you guys up. We'll also need to pay a little visit to Central. Make sure no one get Lovino!"

"Right," Edward replied, but the phone was already dead. He hurried back to the apartment and found that Rose had regained consciousness, Alphonse helping Arthur try to bind her wound.

"No one else came," Alphonse told him the moment he entered.

Edward nodded. "Mustang's sending some of his men here right now."

"I already told you, I'm not going with the military bastards!" Lovino shouted.

"Lovino!" Edward shouted over the Italian. "It wasn't someone from the military." He explained. "I can't be certain, but he was simply disguising himself as military personnel."

"Is Feliciano going to be all right?" Arthur asked.

 

Edward didn't answer.

* * *

"Where are you taking me?" Feliciano cried.

"Oh, can't you just shut up already?" the man snapped as he walked down the tunnel. Getting the kid had been surprisingly easy, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could deal with her before he choked the kid to death.

"Envy, you've returned," the black-haired female greeted him as he walked in.

Red lightning shoot across his body as they changed back to the form they liked the most, with green hair sticking out in spikes from their head. "Yea but let me tell you, this kid is annoying as hell."

"Where am I? Who's she?" Feliciano asked.

Envy held the little persona of North Italy out and said, "Please tell me I'm not going to be the one babysitting."

"We've already gotten that taken care of," Lust explained. "I'm sure this little one will be fine around Pride and Wrath."

"What?" Feliciano asked, staring up at them. The child was certainly scared.


	7. Chapter 7

"No one's seen him?" Edward asked as he entered Mustang's office. Rose had been sent to the hospital and the rest of the group arrived at East under military guard. 

Mustang shook his head. "I've still got people searching, but if we're going to have any hope of finding Feliciano, we're going to need to head to Central and search ourselves."

"Have you told Roderich and Antonio?" Lovino asked.

"No," Mustang replied. "It looks like we're dealing with our own enemies, not anyone that you could consider an-"

"That bastard became my enemy the moment he kidnapped Feliciano!" Lovino shouted over him.

Mustang smiled. "That's the kind of conviction I like to see," he stated. He turned to Edward and asked, "Is there anywhere that you might be able to drop them off? I don't want anyone else getting taken through the course of this mission."

"Winry can look after them," Edward stated. "She's not going to be happy about what happened, but she'll take care of them while we find Feliciano." Edward was rubbing the back of his head, knowing Winry wouldn't be happy to hear this happened to Feliciano.

Mustang nodded. "Go ahead and call her. I wouldn't tell her just yet that Feliciano's been kidnapped, but explain that you've got some business in Central and need someone to look after…" Mustang looked behind Edward at the rest of the group, counting them. "All five of your charges."

"My only charges are Feliciano and Lovino, the rest just tagged along!" Edward stated with a frown.

Arthur said, "Stop your arguing! Who knows what they could be doing to Feliciano right now? We need to get moving!"

"I'll stay here and look after them," Alphonse said,

Edward sighed as he left to find a non-military phone.

"Rockbell residence," Winry's familiar voice said on the first ring.

"Hey Winry," Edward said.

"Ed!" Winry stated. Then, almost like she was anticipating it, she asked, "You didn't break your automail, did you?"

"No, no," Edward reassured her. "But listen, I need you to look after Lovino and his…friends…while I head to Central." Edward wasn't even sure if he could call the rest of them friends or not.

"No problem. What's going on in Central?" Winry asked.

Edward paused, trying to find an excuse. With none forthcoming, he sighed and confessed, "Someone kidnapped Feliciano. We believe that the kidnapper's in Central, but we're not positive."

"Someone took Feliciano?" Winry cried. Edward jerked away from the phone and when he put it back, he heard Den barking in the background.

"Yes. I can explain it better when we arrive, but for now you're just going to need to trust me."Edward wanted to add.

Edward could hear Winry huff, "Fine. Get here the next chance you get. Oh, and exactly how many are there?"

"Five."

"Ok," Winry said. "I'll see you in a bit Edward."

"Yea, bye," Edward mumbled, hanging up. He sighed; that conversation was not how he intended it to go.

When Edward got back to Mustang's office, Mustang said, "I hope she agreed."

"She did, don't worry," Edward muttered. "So when are we leaving?"

"The train's leaving in fifteen minutes," Mustang stated.

"What?" Edward asked.

"Come on," Mustang said. Edward checked and made sure everyone was there before following Mustang out. Arthur was holding onto Alfred and Peter, Matthew following behind them. Edward turned and found Lovino trailing behind them.

"Hey, is everything all right?" Edward asked him.

Lovino glared at him, muttering, "Everything's fine…bastard…"

"Edward…?"

"Alphonse, go on ahead," Edward stated, his eyes not leaving the top of Lovino's head.

Once Edward was sure they were alone, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's always Feliciano," Lovino grumbled. "I'm the older one, but everyone only seems to care about Feliciano."

"Maybe that's for a different reason than you think," Edward said. "When I first met you two, Feliciano didn't make an impression on me as being strong or managing to help himself. You, on the other hand, you were shouting at me before I even saw you. You give off the feeling that you refuse to go down without a fight. People naturally look towards the weaker members of society because they're easier to use or take advantage of, and that's why they pick Feliciano instead. He doesn't come off nearly as strong as you do."

"Really?" Lovino asked.

"Hey, don't go and start doubting yourself. Believe in yourself," Edward said, grinning at Lovino. "Now come on and smile. We _will_ get Feliciano back, and we're not going to rest until we do."

"Yea!" Lovino agreed, Edward's pep talk appearing to help him quite a bit. He ran out of the room, and Edward turned to follow. He still didn't fully understand what was going on, but seeing Lovino's strength made him want to help the brothers to the end.

* * *

"Hello," Selim Bradley greeted Feliciano.

"Ah," Feliciano muttered, looking up at him. "Where am I?" Feliciano asked.

"You're in my home, in Central," Selim said brightly. "Come on, I can show you around."

"Selim, I hope you're not bothering our new arrival," the voice of King Bradley said from behind him.

Feliciano turned around and found himself craning his neck backwards and ended up falling over in an attempt to see Bradley's face. 

"You must be tired," Bradley said, kneeling down so Feliciano could see him. 

"No," Feliciano replied. He stood back up, adding, "I'm hungry, though."

"Don't worry," Selim said, "Food's being prepared right now! It'll be super good!"

"Oh, I can't wait then!" Feliciano replied with a grin.

Selim looked at King Bradley and asked, "Can I play with Feliciano for a little bit?"

"Of course, Selim," Bradley said. "I must be getting back to work."

"Yup," Selim said. "Bye dad!"

"Goodbye," Bradley said. He turned and left the room.

The silence that settled after King Bradley had left stayed for a few moments, before Selim told Feliciano, "Don't worry. Just be a good boy and we won't have any need to hurt you."

Feliciano cringed away from Selim and whimpered softly.


	8. Chapter 8

 

The train ride was quiet. Once they got on the train and into their seats, the children fell asleep. Edward was happy for the moment of quiet, though he didn't blame them for sleeping. A lot had happened. Waking them up when they arrived wasn't easy, and resulted in some groggy faces as they stumbled around and Peter curled up in Alphonse's arms as he continued to sleep.

Den ran over to the group, barking once they reached the house. "Hey Den," Edward said.

Winry opened the door and called out, "Hey Edward. Alphonse."

"Winry, who's that?" Edward asked, seeing a little face from behind her leg. The kid disappeared back inside.

"Long story," Winry said, motioning them inside.

Once everyone was settled and accounted for, Edward counted up the children. There were six there, plus Feliciano made seven. Edward was quietly asking himself how he managed to get so many kids following him around, and silently started cursing out Antonio and Roderich for landing him in this position in the first place.

"Ok, so who should start?" Winry asked, looking at all of Edward's followers. Right now Alfred, Arthur, and Peter were talking with a little boy in a simple black outfit. On his other side, Lovino sat by himself glaring at everyone. Matthew was smiling softly as he watched everyone.

"I guess I should," Edward sighed, and proceeded to explain how he ran into the rest of the group when they returned to Liore, and how they had nowhere else to go with Rose in the hospital and not knowing anyone else in Amestris.

Winry nodded when Edward finished. "Well, I can see now why you asked to have them stay here." She looked around. Lovino was now talking with Alphonse about something and Mustang had disappeared into the kitchen, probably to talk to Pinako.

"You really won't mind?" Edward asked her, absently watching Alfred trying to convince Arthur to do something while Peter talked with the child Winry had found.

"No, I've got my hands full anyway," Winry said, watching them too. She pointed to the one talking to Peter and said, "He called himself Kiku. I'm not sure what happened, but when I was out walking Den, I ran across him and brought him back. I didn't realize he might have something to do with Feliciano and Lovino, though."

Edward shook his head. "I don't know about Feliciano and Lovino, but all of them seem to know each other. This just keeps getting more confusing. Hopefully we can get some answers, though. If not from Lovino then from one of the others."

Mustang chose that moment to walk back into the room. "Sorry to cut this short, but we've got to be going if we're to reach Central. I just talked with the person we're meeting there and he said he'll be waiting at the train station tomorrow for us."

"We're meeting someone there?" Edward asked.

Mustang nodded. "I'm not sure who he is myself, but I explained the situation of how you managed to find all of them," he motioned to the children around the room, "And he thought more may have shown up, with the goal of taking Feliciano from his captors to give to Francis."

"Did you receive a name?" Edward asked, frowning a tiny bit. Maybe this mystery recipient would be able to shed some light on what was happening.

"He called himself Ludwig," Mustang answered.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Edward, Alphonse, and Mustang were about to leave when Lovino ran up and said, "I'm coming too!"

"No," Edward replied bluntly. Before Lovino could object, Edward told him, "You'll be safer here. We don't know what the people who took Feliciano will do to him."

Lovino still looked ready to object, but Alphonse knelt down said, "You're going to be needed here. Winry doesn't know everyone and she'll need help. You can give her that help because you do know everyone."

Lovino nodded. "Bring Feliciano back safely," he told them, before turning around and running back over to the group in the living room.

"I think you're getting better about handling him," Mustang said smugly.

"Aw, shut it," Edward growled, walking out the door. "We're going to need to get to the train station if we're supposed to meet this Ludwig guy on time."

Alphonse chuckled, saying, "Coming, Brother," and ran after him. Mustang followed behind, smiling. There wasn't a moment he regretted putting the Vargas Brothers in Edward's care.

* * *

Edward yawned, sighing softly at the same time. The train they were taking to Central had been delayed so now they had to wait. Mustang wandered over to the phone to call Ludwig and explain about the delay while Alphonse was sitting next to him.

"This still doesn't make any sense," Alphonse said once he was sure no one was listening. "Everything that's happening with Feliciano and Lovino and Arthur and Alfred and all of them. It's like there's some missing clue."

"You're right about that, Al," Edward grumbled, stifling another yawn. "I just don't know what that clue is. Though, it seems like once we get this clue, everything will fall into place immediately."

A pause. "Do you really think it would be a good idea for us to find out this clue?" Alphonse asked.

Edward shook his head. "I can't say either way. The fact remains that there's something that's not right about the whole situation. We know this 'Francis' guy is after them for some reason, but it's hard to guess why."

Mustang walked back over, saying, "He's agreed to wait for us at the train station."

"Did he ever mention how we'd recognize him?" Edward asked.

Mustang chuckled, replying, "He said that he gets the feeling we'll know it's him when we see him."

"That's not very helpful," Edward sighed.

The blow of a whistle indicated that their train was ready to board. Edward was looking forward to a chance to nap, especially since he hadn't had a chance to really sleep since Liore. They got to their seats and Edward relaxed.

"Brother," Alphonse said, shaking him awake. Edward had fallen asleep, for a while at that. The sun was dipping below the horizon. Edward looked out the window and found that the train was slowing. "We're here," Alphonse told him.

Edward stretched and stood up, looking around for Mustang. He spotted Mustang's black hair a few seats away talking to a group of ladies.

Edward watched as Mustang bid the ladies farewell and walked off the train once it stopped. Edward and Alphonse followed, Edward prepared to chew Mustang out for what he saw, but he never got the chance.

They stepped out of the station and looked around. "Do we know where Ludwig is supposed to be?" Edward asked.

"He said he'd be waiting for us by the train," Mustang stated.

Edward stood there for what seemed to be a very long time, before finally seeing who he thought he was supposed to. "There," Edward stated, pointing to the blond near the end of the train. The group picked up their cases and made their way over.

"You're Ludwig?" Mustang asked. Edward was staring in shock. From the sound of it, they were supposed to be meeting a grown man, probably like Antonio. He wasn't expecting to meet yet another child. This just kept getting stranger and stranger.

"I am," the kid calling himself Ludwig replied. "There don't appear to be any enemies around, but it's still not a good idea to talk out in the open. Come on." He turned and started walking. "I got hotel rooms set up so we can have some more privacy."

Edward continued to be surprised. He didn't look to be any older than Lovino, yet he was already booking hotel rooms and appeared to be traveling on his own. He had never started doing this until he was twelve, and he had Alphonse with him the whole time.

They were about to exit the station when Ludwig froze. He seemed to be looking at someone, and Edward caught the gaze of someone with white hair and red eyes as he disappeared around a corner. 

"Ludwig?" Alphonse asked, looking at him.

He shook his head. "It's nothing, come on."

The group made their way to a nearby hotel. Once they were inside one of the rooms, Ludwig sat down on one of the beds and asked, "What do you know about Feliciano's kidnappers?"

"They're a group of beings we call Homunculi. They look human, but they aren't. They've got their own secret agenda that seems to require the Elric Brothers," Mustang stated.

Ludwig nodded. "Then it would make sense for them to take Feliciano. If the enemy won't cooperate, take someone important to them, and they'll follow to make sure the taken remains safe."

"You speak like you know them," Edward said, suspicious.

"The best way to know one's enemy is to think like him," Ludwig stated. "I've learned that in my battles, and it's helped me win because I could find the weak points and send my armies through them."

Edward suddenly took a different view on Ludwig. One moment he seemed like a wandering kid, the next it sounded like he was a military leader. Without thinking, Edward asked, "What are you?"

Ludwig shrugged "Not a Homunculus. I could tell you what I am, but you probably wouldn't understand right now."

The reply left Edward more confused than before. Ludwig said before Edward could ask, "Feliciano and Lovino are like me. We're still growing, but one day our bodies will stop growing, and we'll be pretty close to immortal."

This left Edward dumbfounded, and just by looking at Mustang, he could tell Mustang was just as confused.

"I'll explain everything else in due time," Ludwig said quickly. "For now we need to focus on getting Feliciano back."

Edward nodded, but he couldn't resist asking. "Who was that person we saw leaving the station? It seemed like you knew him."

Ludwig looked at him, surprised that Edward seemed to have noticed him. "That was Gilbert Beilschmidt. He's like us, everyone you've met so far is. Antonio and Roderich, Arthur, Alfred, Peter, Matthew, all of us. Gilbert seems to be working for someone else, though. That's not good news, since he might be here looking for Feliciano."

"So Francis can get Feliciano and Lovino?" Alphonse asked.

Ludwig looked up at him, and frowned and nodded. "Possibly. Regardless of if he's here for Francis or someone else, it makes it harder for us."

Edward frowned. "How so?"

"Gilbert's fought in many wars, he's had a lot of experience. Experience that only comes from fighting over so many years. Now that he's seen us, he'll be expecting us. Him and everyone else working alongside him."

Edward shook his head in disbelief. "How could you guys have so much experience, for as young as you guys look?"

"We don't age the same way humans do either. Our bodies age slower," Ludwig said mysteriously. "If I had to guess at who else is on Gilbert's side, my first bet would be Abel Densen."

* * *

"Well?" Lust asked as Gilbert came up.

Gilbert stated, "It's Ludwig all right."

"Well, then, we're just going to have to up our schedule a bit." Lust smiled, and turned and left the station without another word.

Gilbert looked at Gluttony and followed her. He knew people he could consider to eat a lot, but he had never seen anyone eat as much as Gluttony.

"You sure there isn't anyone else?" Lust asked him once she made sure Gluttony and Gilbert were following her.

Gilbert said, "The only other option would be Elizabeta, but she won't work with us since you guys have Feliciano."

Lust didn't reply, which led Gilbert to scowl. "Listen, if you want someone else, I'll give you someone else."

"Oh, and who might that be?"

"Abel Densen."


	10. Chapter 10

"Abel Densen?" Mustang asked.

Ludwig nodded. "Which means the rest of his group won't be far behind." He jumped off the bed, wrote a quick note, and opened the window.

A carrier pigeon landed in front of him, holding out its leg. Ludwig tied the note around its leg and it flew off.

"Hopefully I'll get a reply by morning," Ludwig said, closing the window.

Edward stared after the pigeon, asking, "What was with the bird?"

"Carrier pigeon," Ludwig stated. "It'll carry my message to Antonio. We don't have phones so we can't call each other. Hopefully he'll send a reply back quickly."

"Speaking of morning, we're going to need to wake early so we can start looking for Feliciano," Mustang said.

With that, Edward, Alphonse, and Mustang went into the next room.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Edward asked, skeptical of the child-military leader.

Alphonse replied, "It's not like we've got any other choice."

"I'd rather work alone," Edward stated. "For all we know, he's working for Francis and will take Feliciano the first chance he gets."

Mustang shook his head. "That's not likely. Roderich and Antonio both said Ludwig's on their side. We can trust him."

"Well, I'm keeping an eye on him," Edward growled. He laid down and wondered about what they had gotten into, before falling asleep.

* * *

 

"Augh!"

Alphonse's scream brought Mustang and Edward back to consciousness. It took a moment, but they realized that Alphonse's cry came from Ludwig's room. They ran in, Edward thinking that he was right and Francis was in there, ready to take Alphonse hostage in a demand for Feliciano and Lovino.

The only resident was a male in his early twenties trying to calm Alphonse. Edward looked around, not finding Ludwig, before looking back at this man.

"What happened to Ludwig?" Edward growled, stepping in front of Alphonse and extending a sword from his automail.

"I am Ludwig," the other man replied. "I should've explained this last night, but with Gilbert showing up, I forgot."

Edward asked, "How can you be Ludwig. He's a little kid!"

"Edward," Ludwig stated, "I told you I wasn't human. I'm not sure what happens myself, but while I'm here, I'll switch between my body and an older version of myself."

"Then why isn't anyone else affected by it?" Edward asked, thinking about how Feliciano and Lovino had stayed the same age the entire time.

Ludwig shrugged. "I've thought of a number of possibilities, none of them ones I like to keep my thoughts on for very long," he said simply. There was a tapping on the window at this point, and Ludwig turned towards the window and opened it. The carrier pigeon from before entered, holding out its leg. There was a paper attached to the leg, which Ludwig removed and read.

"Thanks," he told the bird, letting it fly out of the window and closing it. Ludwig turned to the rest of the group and said, "Gilbert's in an alliance with Francis," Ludwig said. "Not surprising, since Roderich and Antonio are enemies with Gilbert and Arthur's on our side right now."

"What?" Edward asked, confused by what Ludwig just said.

Ludwig shook his head. "Nothing. Point is Gilbert's most likely got his own agenda. One that likely involves Feliciano."

Mustang observed the whole thing in silence. Now, he spoke up, saying, "then we'll find Feliciano first."

The group split up. Alphonse was going to check for any traces of Feliciano in the North side of Central, Edward the West, Mustang the South, and Ludwig the East side.

Alphonse went around asking people if they've seen the Italian, but with no success in his search. His search for the Italian was watched by Lust.

Edward wandered around calling out "Feliciano!" like there was no tomorrow. He was ignorant of the balding man watching his every move.

Mustang sent out patrols to do his job for him, not realizing Wrath was following him.

Ludwig remained inconspicuous, trying to pick up any talk of Feliciano or any sign of his friend and crush. He was thankful that his body had aged so people weren't asking him what a kid was doing by himself and where his parents were. It made the search that much easier.

Ludwig was rewarded, for he heard Feliciano ask, "Where are we going, Selim?" and saw Feliciano a moment later.

Selim was pulling Feliciano behind him. He said, "We're going to the library! Come on!"

Ludwig moved from his position and followed the two, not drawing attention.

He followed them right to the library. He waited a few minutes before following them inside, only able to watch them at the moment while he tried to figure out how to rescue the Italian.

He stepped inside and looked around, spotting them easily. Trying to make it look like he was there of his own volition, he wandered in their direction and stopped on the other side of one of the bookcases, out of sight but able to hear them.

Selim looked around to make sure they weren't going to be overheard. "You've been a good kid so far," Selim said, grinning as his voice changed.

Feliciano shuddered, trying to move away from Selim, but he pulled Feliciano closer, making it look like Selim was showing his 'friend' part of a book. Feliciano whimpered. "Are you scared?" Selim asked. "Do you want to go crying for the Elrics and their little friends?"

Feliciano still didn't reply, and Ludwig could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on end at Selim's voice. He couldn't suppress the shudder that overcame him. A child Selim may be, but he sounded like anything but one with that voice.

"Don't worry, we're almost ready, then you'll get to see your precious guardian again," Selim muttered, laughing before saying in his normal voice, "This is the one I'm going to get! Come on!" With that, Selim dragged Feliciano off again.

Ludwig's eyes watched them leave. Feliciano was trembling, looking scared as they left, and it took everything Ludwig had to stay there for a little longer before putting the book back and leaving. There wasn't any sign of Selim and Feliciano, but he knew who he was looking for, so he returned to the hotel.

Edward, Alphonse, and Mustang reported that they had no luck. Then Ludwig explained what took place at the library.

"Selim," Edward muttered. "They didn't waste a moment in placing him into the hands of the most powerful Homunculus there."

"Is Feliciano all right?" Alphonse asked.

Ludwig stated, "Feliciano appeared to be fine, but was still scared when they left."

Mustang nodded. "We'll go into standby until we find out what the Homunculi's true goals are."

"Right," the other three replied, though Ludwig didn't look at all happy by this statement.

* * *

"Hey Abel," Gilbert greeted the blond who walked up to him.

Abel smiled, saying, "Francis wasn't happy about sending us all this way." Behind him, the figures of Berwald, Tino, Lukas, and Emil could be seen.

Gilbert waved to them, saying, "Don't worry, everything's going according to plan so far. We just need to keep them busy until we can grab Feliciano. Then we're home free."

Lukas pushed his way to the front, asking, "And if this doesn't work?"

"Then Ludwig gets Feliciano back and Francis won't be to happy," Gilbert said bluntly, before adding, "We can get Feliciano before them. We have more information than Ludwig does."

 

"You got a plan?" Abel asked.

Gilbert nodded, bringing them together. "We can do it tomorrow or the day after. This is how we're going to do it..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abel Densen - Denmark  
> Berwald - Sweden  
> Tino - Finland  
> Lukas - Norway  
> Emil - Iceland


	11. Chapter 11

 

The next morning, Edward found Ludwig had changed back into a child. He was straightening his hat at the moment.

"The change isn't normally day-by-day," Ludwig told him. "Once I was an adult for a few weeks."

Edward was slightly disturbed to find that he could talk about something so _naturally_. Mustang spoke up before they could continue talking about it.

"That aside, first thing's first," Mustang stated. "We've got summons from Fuhrer King Bradley. Fullmetal, Alphonse, and I are to go and speak with him."

"Isn't he one of the Homunculi?" Ludwig asked.

Mustang nodded. "Which means that Feliciano must be involved, but we can't risk bringing you because we don't know whether they know about you or not, and he never mentioned you."

"This will give us a reason to scout out the military base," Ludwig pointed out. "You guys go and meet him, and I can take a look around."

There wasn't any reply, but the looks on their faces showed just how worried they were.

"Well, we can be almost certain that if this does involve Feliciano. Which means that there isn't going to be any reason to check the base," Alphonse pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked.

Ludwig knew what Alphonse was thinking. "You're right, if you've got a victim, why hide said victim within the rescuer's reach? No, their hiding Feli somewhere else."

"The tunnel under Central," Alphonse said. "Not many people know about it, so it's likely."

"And it runs under the military base," Edward agreed.

Mustang nodded. "Well, that's settled. While we go talk to Fuhrer King Bradley, Ludwig, you can search out the tunnel below."

Ludwig said, "Just point me to the entrance."

With that, the group of four left. Ludwig went with them for a bit, but once he had an entrance pointed out he vanished into the crowd.

* * *

"Everyone know what they're doing?" Gilbert asked. A few feet away, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Pride were talking with a shadowy figure they referred to as 'Father'. Standing by Gilbert were the Nordics, talking amongst themselves.

"We know," Abel replied.

Gilbert nodded. "Where did they put Italy?"

The Nordics hissed as Gilbert used one of the country names, but he simply shook his head. "It's not like they're paying attention to us anyway."

"Emil?" Abel asked, looking at Iceland.

He pointed down one of the hallways. "Go through there. Take your fifth right, go up the first set of stairs you come across, take the corridor on your left at the top, the stairs on your right should take you down three flights, Run the length of that hallway and climb the ladder at the end. You should come out in the middle of nowhere. From there, run east until you find another manhole cover. Feliciano's in there," Emil stated. "I can't give you instructions for the inside, though."

Gilbert nodded. "Then why don't we start?"

Lukas muttered, "The sooner we can get out of here the better."

"Berwald? Tino?" Abel asked, turning to Sweden and Finland. "Why don't you start us off?"

The two countries nodded and made their way towards the Homunculi. Once they had started the distraction, Gilbert slipped down the indicated hallway, muttering the directions Emil gave to himself.

* * *

Ludwig dove for cover just in time. He watched as Gilbert ran past, seemingly too intent on what he was doing to bother to notice the Holy Roman Empire. Ludwig followed him, making sure to stay far enough away from Gilbert so he wasn't noticed. He was curious about what Gilbert was doing.

After what seemed like a lifetime of running through confusing corridors, coming to the surface at one point and running for a while before finally coming to a second manhole cover. The footsteps he had been following disappeared inside. Ludwig knelt and put an ear to the edge, listening for the Prussian. Once he determined that Gilbert wasn't waiting on the other side, he slid the cover open and jumped inside, looking around. There was only one direction to go, so he took it.

* * *

"Hello, Fullmetal. Mustang. Alphonse," Fuhrer King Bradley greeted them. "I'm assuming you three already know why you've been called."

"It's got to do with Feliciano, doesn't it?" Alphonse asked.

"Very good, Alphonse," Fuhrer King Bradley replied. "I'll make this simple. We've got Feliciano trapped in an undisclosed location. Our request is simple. Stand aside and let what will come to pass happen, and Feliciano shall be freed. If you don't accept our request, however, Feliciano will drown to death."

"You expect to use a child's life to shackle us?" Edward growled.

Fuhrer King Bradley replied, "You should think about it, Edward. It could be the worst mistake you make in your life."

Edward grit his teeth. _Ludwig, you'd better find Feliciano._

* * *

Ludwig quickly got confused in this cavernous tunnel. There were so many splits, but something told him to keep going straight. The tunnel looked to be man-made, and there wasn't any sign of Gilbert.

"Help!"

Ludwig looked up from his trek when he thought he heard someone.

"Please! Is anyone there!"

There wasn't any mistake. That was Feliciano. Ludwig set off at a run, forgetting he was trying to stay quiet so Gilbert wouldn't hear him.

"Italy!" Ludwig called when he got close enough.

Sure enough, hanging in front of him was the little Italian, tied to a chair with chains and various weights hanging off it. "Holy Rome!" Feliciano called.

Edward growled. How could he make the choice between letting the Homunculi get away with their plan and saving Feliciano?

Ludwig saw Gilbert before Gilbert saw him. He sped up, hoping to reach Feliciano first.

"Brother…" Alphonse said, looking at him as he struggled to choose. How could he possibly think about it?

"No! Holy Rome! Wait!" Feliciano cried as he realized that Ludwig wasn't going to see the traps laid out in time.

"Well, Fullmetal? You've got a choice. Stop us and let the kid drown, or walk away with the kid unscathed," Wrath stated.

Ludwig, in a rush of adrenaline, jumped forward, grabbing the bottom of Feliciano's chair. "Holy Rome!" Feliciano cried. Then Ludwig felt a searing pain in his leg.

"I…" Edward muttered. Feliciano or country? If he hadn't known what the Homunculi were planning, he wouldn't have waited this long in answering.

Ludwig gripped the projectile sticking out of his leg and ripped it out. Blood spilled into the pool of water below, but Ludwig didn't seem to notice the pain as he started to move upward to try and reach Feliciano.

… _I'm sorry._ Edward bit his lip, before finally saying, "Keep your hands off our country."

"Brother!" Alphonse cried.

"Fullmetal!" Mustang scolded.

Fuhrer King Bradley chuckled. "Bad choice." He hit a button on his desk.

Ludwig felt the mechanism slack. The next second they were falling. "Holy Rome!" Feliciano cried.

Ludwig grabbed Feliciano without thinking, and they sank to the bottom of the tank of water. Ludwig set to work trying to free the binds that held Feliciano captive. Feliciano looked ready to say something, but Ludwig placed a finger over his mouth, indicating that wasn't the time to speak. He didn't notice the red tinge the water was starting to take as his leg continued to bleed.

Ludwig tugged as hard as he could on the chains, but nothing was working. He swam upwards and gasped.

"Dammit bastard! You'd better save Feliciano!"

The voice of Lovino was like a wake-up call. Ludwig turned and saw that Lovino was trying to fight off Gilbert. The elder Italian paused long enough to throw Ludwig his sword. "What are you waiting for?"

Ludwig nodded, diving back under and this time, with sword in hand, was able to break the shackles. He grabbed Feliciano and pulled the Italian to the surface, dragging him over to the edge and pushing him onto land. Ludwig sat next to him and looked for any signs of life. The rise and fall of his little chest, his breath, but there wasn't anything.

Ludwig trembled, leaning down and starting to pump the Italian's chest, puffing some breath into him as he repeated the process.

Feliciano started coughing up water, and relaxed as the water got out of his system. "Holy Rome," he muttered.

"Italy. Oh, Italy," Ludwig sobbed. The two hugged each other, never happier to see each other. "You're okay."

Feliciano smiled as he held Ludwig close, happy to know they were safe.

 


	12. Chapter 12

"So, are we going to get to walk away?" Edward asked, but never got an answer because Envy appeared in the window.

"They turned on us," Envy growled. "They didn't waste a moment, either."

Wrath nodded. "It's too late, anyway." He was fingering the button looking Edward full in the face. Edward stared back, not going to be the one to break his gaze.

"So what do we do?" Envy asked.

"Dispose of them," Wrath replied, sweeping out of the room without a backwards glance.

* * *

"Come on, let's get out of here," Ludwig said. He grabbed Feliciano's hand and, making sure Lovino was following them, started to run for the exit.

Feliciano wasn't sure what was happening anymore. "Where are Ed and Al?"

"They were going to try and compromise with the enemy," Ludwig replied, but suddenly fell as he felt his consciousness slipping.

"Holy Rome!" Feliciano called. "Oh, the wound's really bad."

"Don't you know not to get a wound wet?" Lovino growled, turning and preparing to try and fight Gilbert once more.

Ludwig looked at Feliciano and said, "Antonio and…Roderich should be waiting…outside…they'll take you back to…Edward and Alphonse…" It was getting hard to talk, now that his adrenaline rush had gone.

"No! You can't die!" Feliciano cried. "We're supposed to live until we're centuries old and talk about everything that's happened. We're supposed to watch the world evolve. You can't die now!"

Ludwig took Feliciano's hand and smiled at him. "I won't die here, I can promise you that." He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, but was stopped from continuing because of a rush of clothing and the 'clang' as something hit someone's head.

Feliciano, Lovino, and Ludwig all looked and found Elizabeta standing there, frying pan in hand, stopping Gilbert from reaching them. "Go, now!" she called to them.

Feliciano and Lovino, much to the latter's disapproving look, grabbed Holy Rome's arms and held him between them, making for the exit again. Behind them, they could hear Elizabeta and Gilbert arguing.

"What happened?" Roderich asked as he took Ludwig into his grasp.

Feliciano said, "He was hit wi-with one of Gilbert's arrows w-when he was tr-trying to save me." Feliciano had started crying as he watched his friend, trying to wipe away the tears only to have more replace them.

Roderich nodded. "Come on," he said. He turned and started to climb one-handed up the ladder and into the daylight, Lovino and Feliciano following.

"Lovi!" Antonio said when they were all in the open. "Didn't Edward tell you to stay with his friend?"

"I couldn't leave those bastards to find Feliciano themselves!" Lovino defended himself.

"It's," Ludwig gasped. "It's all right. If-If he hadn't sh-shown, we wo-wouldn't have been a-able to save Fel-Feliciano." Ludwig was breathing heavily and was gasping for breath when he was finished.

"Ludwig!" Feliciano cried.

Roderich said, "Don't worry. He's going to be fine."

"Fine? We're in the middle of nowhere!" Lovino shouted.

Roderich sighed. "Watch." He laid Ludwig down and turned to Antonio. "Rip one of the sleeves off your shirt."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Antonio did so, staring at Roderich like he was crazy. Roderich was given the cloth, who promptly started to rip it up into strips.

"Hey!" Antonio protested.

"He needs it more than you," Roderich stated. He took one of the strips and tied it tight above Ludwig's leg wound, and then proceeded to use the rest to bind the actual wound. "This is crude, it won't last for long," he explained. He picked Ludwig back up and started walking. Feliciano, Lovino, and Antonio quickly fell into step behind him.

"Will he be all right?" Feliciano asked.

"If we can get back to Central fast enough," Roderich replied. Then he smiled down at the little Italian and finished, "But we are. Don't worry."

Feliciano nodded, looking in the direction they were walking. They didn't appear to be near Central, though.

Feliciano felt himself get scooped up, and he cried out. Roderich turned but sighed when he saw who it was. "Well met, Alphonse."

Feliciano was laughing now as he hugged Alphonse. "You found us!"

"Of course we did," Edward replied, walking out from behind Alphonse. His self-satisfied smirk disappeared when he saw Ludwig, though. "What happened?" he asked.

"Gilbert," Antonio said. "Apparently he caught Ludwig in the leg while trying to rescue Feliciano."

Edward nodded. "So why's Lovino here?"

Lovino, who was trying to hide behind Antonio's legs, scowled and said, "I couldn't expect you bastards to be any help in saving Feliciano! And I was right, if I hadn't been there, Ludwig would've died and Gilbert would've taken Feliciano!"

"Wait, but, I thought-" Edward stumbled. He was caught by the fact that Lovino said Feliciano would've been _caught_. Not that he would've _died_.

"You thought that if Feliciano drowned, he would've died," Antonio guessed. Edward nodded. "Ludwig said we weren't human, didn't he? We can't die by things like drowning. We can't even be killed by being hanged. Being shot, though, that's different." Antonio glanced at Ludwig in concern at this point.

Edward shook his head. "Okay, Feliciano wouldn't have died. That would've been nice to know, but right now we've got another thing to worry about."

"What?" Feliciano asked.

"The Homunculi aren't to happy," Edward stated.

Roderich nodded. "And once Francis hears Gilbert didn't succeed in grabbing Feliciano, that's going to lead to more problems."

"So here's what we're going to do," Edward said. He pulled out his silver watch and gave it to Antonio. "You and Roderich will take Ludwig to the hospital, get his leg healed. Alphonse, you take Feliciano and Lovino and return to Dublith. Teacher should be able to help protect them."

"What about you?" Antonio asked, examining the watch.

"Give me your other sleeve," Edward said. Antonio looked ready to protest, but ripped the sleeve off and gave it to Edward. Edward placed it in the sand and sat there examining it for a few minutes, before finally clapping his hands together and placing them on the cloth. Blue lightning erupted from the spot and sitting in front of him were little dummies that looked like replicas of Feliciano and Lovino. "I'm taking these and going back to Resembool," Edward stated. "Then I can explain the situation to Winry."

"But what if someone sees the real us and tips Francis off?" Lovino asked.

"No one will," Edward replied, looking at Alphonse.

"Ah, um…" Alphonse seemed very hesitant.

"Problem?" Edward asked.

In answer, there was mewing.

"Huh?" Feliciano asked. He pulled Alphonse's helmet off and revealed the head of a cat. "Aaaaa!" Feliciano nearly fell of Alphonse's armor, Lovino jumped backward, trying to look like he was ready to fight despite being scared. Edward was frowning at Alphonse as there was another mewl.

"What have I said about cats?" Edward asked.

Alphonse replied, "But he was so lonely!"

"Are we missing something?" Roderich asked.

"Explanation later," Edward sighed. "Long story short is that Alphonse doesn't have a body. Lovino and Feliciano are going to hide inside his armor until he gets to Teacher's house. Once they're inside, until we can determine they're safe, they can't leave. I'll contact Alphonse about moving them once I get back to Resembool."

Roderich nodded. "What about Ludwig? What do you want us to do with him when he's healed?"

"And what's the watch for?" Antonio asked.

"Do what you guys want, and tell the people at the hospital I'm paying for you. Give them the watch as proof," Edward explained, picking up the Italian Brother dummies.

Feliciano looked inside Alphonse's armor again. "Is everything really going to be ok?" he asked.

Edward nodded. "Don't worry, it is. Oh, but don't touch the marking on the back of the neck."

"I see," Feliciano replied, and jumped inside, making sure to avoid the blood seal.

Alphonse helped Lovino up and in also, before putting his head back on.

"While you guys are inside, try to avoid making any noise," Alphonse told them.

"Ok!" Feliciano replied from inside the armor. He hugged the kitty and giggled as it started licking his cheek.

With that, the group set off towards Central again.


	13. Chapter 13

 

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Envy chucked the dummy of Feliciano at a wounded Edward. Behind him were Arthur, Alfred, and Peter. Arthur was busy chanting, Alfred was holding a musket – though Edward wasn't sure how he got it – and Peter was staying out of the way watching everything play out.

Edward gasped as he caught the ripped dummy. "You should know better than to underestimate me," Edward replied with a grin. Two months had passed since Feliciano had been rescued from the Homunculi. Edward told Alphonse once he reached Resembool to try and keep moving with Feliciano and Lovino as much as possible, avoiding someone from seeing the Vargas Brothers, while Edward continued on his quest for the Philosopher's Stone with the dummies and the trio behind him. Two months ago was also the last time Francis' allies had been seen. Last time Edward heard from Roderich and Antonio, Ludwig was still injured but healing well and that they had been able to move him back to his home. From what Edward understood, beyond the reach of even the Homunculi.

It appeared Edward's plan had worked perfectly. Alphonse had told him that he hadn't seen any Homunculi on his trail, and here was Envy standing in front of the elder Elric examining his dummies. "Well, we'll learn from this mistake. So the question is where are the little brats?" Envy stalked forward, pulling a bent and shattered pipe out of a pile of rubble that had been a car a few minutes previously and went to stab Edward with it.

There was the sound of a gunshot and Envy flew backwards, coughing up blood. Alfred was standing there, trembling a little bit and firing a few more shots. "Come on!" he told them. They turned and made their way toward West City, Alfred firing a few more shots at Envy to make sure he couldn't get up and follow.

* * *

Alphonse looked around. "Okay," he said, lifting his head. Feliciano and Lovino jumped out and looked around curiously.

"Where are we?" Feliciano asked.

Alphonse replied, "We're near West City. There, over that ridge actually. We're going to be stopping here for the night, though."

"Not another night in the forest," Lovino complained, sighing.

"It could be worse," Feliciano stated, sitting down and yawning. "Francis could've gotten us a long time ago."

Lovino shuddered. "He can go to hell," he stated.

"Can you two stay here and be quiet?" Alphonse asked. "I'll head to West City and get some food, and make sure the coast is clear."

"Okay," Feliciano replied. This was something they've grown use to doing. Normally Alphonse would find a willing family to look after them for a few hours while he 'ran a few errands' and paid them in kind by helping out with things they needed finished.

* * *

Alphonse walked into the city, looking around cautiously before walking to a nearby vendor and buying some food. Knowing Edward would pass that way, he asked the vendor to give his brother a message. The vendor agreed and Alphonse started to head back for where he left Feliciano and Lovino.

"Get away from us!"

"Ah!" Alphonse picked up his pace as he heard the voice. That sounded like Lovino. "Lovino!"

* * *

"Come along," Francis said, holding his arms out to the two young Italians. "Why don't you two come live with me?"

"No!" Lovino cried. "We're happy with Antonio and Roderich!"

Francis sighed, and kneeled down. "Oh, but you'll both make such great servants." He smiled as he imagined it.

Lovino scowled and ran up to him, trying to punch him.

Francis didn't seem harmed in the slightest. If anything, he actually looked even more excited to of found the Vargas Siblings.

* * *

"Ah!" Alphonse managed to duck behind some nearby undergrowth as a mysterious blond stood up, sighing in affection. "Oh, you two will make such lovely servants."

"I already told you, wine bastard! We're not joining you!" Lovino's voice cried out.

"Oh, little Romano, little South Italy, is that any way to talk when your dear Spain isn't here to protect you?" the man asked.

Alphonse was confused. What were these names the blond was calling him?

"France, why can't you stop this fighting? Holy Rome's has already gotten hurt! Why must you continue with this!" Feliciano's voice cried out.

France replied, "Holy Rome got what was coming to him. Austria and Hungary also have their hands full right now with Prussia, so they're not going to be coming to your aid."

"Well, you've got another thing coming!" Arthur's voice cried out. Alphonse watched as the Englishman jumped out in front of the Vargas Brothers, Alfred and Peter following close behind.

"What?" Alphonse muttered, watching as Edward joined them, saying, "So you're Francis."

* * *

"Get away from us!"

Arthur's head snapped up. "Arthur?" Alfred asked, a little hesitant.

"Well, they're here, but it sounds like someone got Lovino upset," Arthur stated.

Edward didn't understand, but Alfred and Peter must have, because Peter said, "We should hurry, then."

Edward nodded. He ran to a nearby vendor and asked for a few items. The vendor gave the items to him, along with a note. When Edward contacted Alphonse with what he should do, he was very specific in mentioning that in two months from that date, they should be in West City. Edward also explained to Alphonse where to enter and which vendor to use.

Edward ripped open the note and read quickly. The vendor told him, "The one that told me to give this to you ran off quite quickly."

"Thanks," Edward replied, giving him a bit more money than required. "Come on, guys." Edward ran for the forest.

They arrived just in time to hear the mysterious blond tell the Vargas Brothers, "Holy Rome got what was coming to him. Austria and Hungary also have their hands full right now with Prussia, so they're not going to be coming to your aid."

"Francis," Arthur muttered. He ran out of the brush and jumped in front of the Vargas Brothers, saying, "You've got another thing coming." He felt Alfred and Peter join him, and Edward walked out a few moments later.

"So, you're Francis," Edward stated, staring at the blond.

"That's right, who would you be?" Francis replied.

Edward said, "I'm the guard for the Vargas Brothers. If you were smart, you would've stayed away from us."

Francis chuckled. "There's nothing you're going to be able to do to stop me."

Edward clapped his hands together and extended his automail into a sword. "Is that really what you think?"

Francis pulled out his sword. "This is going to be interesting," Francis stated. He jumped forward, slashing at Edward. "Tell me, how long would it take for you to surrender them to me?"

Edward barely blocked his sword, the fatigue from his fight with Envy suddenly overriding him. The shock dislodged his automail and Edward's arm fell limp. "Damn," Edward muttered. He clapped his hands together and slammed his left one into the ground, causing spikes to rise up and stab at Francis.

Francis jumped over them easily. "You're no stranger to combat, it seems," he said. "That's a relief; I wouldn't want to take them from you too easily."

"Edward!" Feliciano cried as Francis went in for another stab. Edward couldn't get himself shielded in time, though.

Edward closed his eyes, waiting for the sword to connect, but it never did. Instead, there was the clang of metal colliding. Edward opened his eyes and found the black-and-gold-clad Ludwig standing in front of him, grimacing slightly. "You're not going to be killing anyone today, Francis," he stated.

"Oh, it looks like your recovery's coming along better than expected," Francis said. "That'll just make things more fun." He snapped his fingers and an army emerged around them.

They were surrounded.

"Sir, we found this one hiding," one of the soldiers stated. They pulled Alphonse up and dumped him at Francis' feet.

"Al!" Edward cried.

"Alphonse!" Feliciano yelled.

"Hello," Francis said calmly.

Alphonse stared at Francis, asking, "Why do you want Feliciano and Lovino so badly?"

Francis chuckled. "Why, if I can get them, I get an entire country."


	14. Chapter 14

"What do you mean a whole country?" Alphonse asked.

Francis chuckled. "Oh, they haven't told you?"

"I told them what they needed to know," Holy Rome growled, using his sword to turn Francis' face back at him. "There's nothing more they need to know."

"Ah, but I get the feeling that they want to know," Francis replied, looking at Edward.

Edward was looking at each of them, as if the pieces were falling into place. First Francis, then the Vargas Brothers, then Holy Rome, then quickly Arthur, Alfred, and Peter, before jumping back to Francis.

_They can't drown, but they can die by battle wounds._ Edward thought to himself. _Francis seemingly has nothing to gain by taking these two away from Antonio and Roderich._ Edward's mind jumped back to that first night, when they were at Winry's. He was passing Feliciano's and Lovino's bedroom, heading back to his room from the bathroom, when he overheard them. What did they say? _"It's not! Holy Rome was the one that told them we'd be safe here, and France shouldn't know we're here either. We should be safe!"_ Feliciano said that, but when those two were talking, they didn't call each other Feliciano and Lovino. What was it they called each other? _Veneziano and Romano._ What else? When they were at Teacher's house, Feliciano said, _"Holy Rome and Francis got into a fight over me before, I don't want to see either of them getting hurt over it again. I don't want to see Mr. Roderich or Ms. Elizabeta or Antonio hurt either."_

Putting all these dots together, it was easy to tell that there was something greater here than he originally thought. Finally, something seemed to fall into place as he looked at Ludwig and Francis and thought, _Holy Rome and France._ Then, looking at the Vargas Brothers, _Veneziano and Romano._

Edward was just about to say what he realized when Roderich and Antonio crashed through the trees, making a majority of France's army scatter long enough for the two to reach the Vargas Brothers. Subconsciously, Edward corrected himself to think, _Austria and Spain._

Everything had fallen into place, except for where they came from.

"It's over, Francis," Antonio stated, holding out a halberd. He grinned and said, "There's no where for you to run. Surrender is your only option."

"That's so cliché, Antonio," Francis replied, waving his hand airily. "And besides, your surrounded by my army, what hope do you have?"

"Well," Roderich said, adjusting his glasses slightly. "While we may be down Elizabeta and her army, we've still got one of the best alchemists Amestrian military has. Besides, you already know you've lost."

"Oh, and why's that?" Francis asked.

"Even with your army you are severely outnumbered," Antonio pointed out. "And we already know you've gotten plenty of wounds from this war. You'd be better off just surrendering now before you end up getting killed."

Francis gripped his side, wincing. He looked over the group, looking like he was considering something. Finally he sighed and nodded. "I guess I have no choice. You far outnumber me at this point, especially with Gilbert and the Nordics withdrawing to their own countries. Fine, I surrender."

Cheering. Edward and Alphonse didn't understand what just happened, but something told the Elric Brothers they were going to have to say goodbye to their charges very soon.

"We'll give you an hour to leave with your army," Roderich stated, picking up Feliciano. "If we find you still here, you will face the consequences."

Francis nodded. Edward looked around at all of them, before sighing and stating, "You guys owe us an explanation."

* * *

"Ok, so you guys are from another world, and not only that, you're embodiments of the countries?" Edward asked.

Holy Rome nodded. "Moving…moving Feliciano and Lovino to someplace that wouldn't be easily reached was our best chance of keeping them safe until we could get Francis to surrender."

"Don't worry," Feliciano said from Roderich's lap, where he looked perfectly content. "We'll come back and visit again, someday. Right Lovino?"

"Maybe you will," Lovino grumbled.

Alphonse chuckled. "This is actually quite amazing. I mean, is there a possibility that there's an embodiment for Amestris?"

"If there is, they've done an extremely good job at hiding," Antonio replied. He glanced at a clock and said, "Ah, we must be off. Need to tell Elizabeta of our victory and all that."

Edward nodded. They were just getting ready to leave when Feliciano hugged Edward. "We'll really come back to visit, I promise."

Edward smiled, patting Feliciano on the head one last time. "I know you will." Then he handed Feliciano back to Roderich and watched them leave.

* * *

"Edward, have you finished with the roof?" Winry called from her house. It was three years after Feliciano, Lovino, Ludwig, Roderich, Antonio, and the rest of them left. Edward called Winry and explained that his automail was dislodged and that Feliciano and Lovino were safe. She was sad she hadn't gotten the chance to say goodbye, but expressed she was happy they were okay and could return home. They hadn't had contact with them since, and Edward could almost believe it was a dream, if it weren't for the fact Winry had taken the liberty of taking the drawing Feliciano gave Edward of the Flannel and framing it so it could sit in their living room.

Alphonse ran up, laughing. He was back in his normal body, and being chased by Den. Edward smiled, following Alphonse into the house. They had succeeded in both their missions. They kept the Vargas Brothers safe and returned their bodies to normal. Or, rather, almost normal. Edward still felt the automail leg in place of his real one.

Edward took one last look around before going inside and ended up double-taking. Standing on top of a hill were two figures. Ludwig and Feliciano, only they were both grown up. Edward watched as Feliciano, in what appeared to be a blue military uniform, smiled and waved at him. Edward smiled back and gave them both a wave.

So why did it seem like Ludwig hadn't recognized him?


End file.
